Chapter 261: Burn

　　Creak!

　　Hearing the door open, both of them stopped the fight and sat down before the people came in.

　　Three people walked in.

　　The first one was a human trafficker, who started shouting at them to get up. The other two were a teenage girl and boy.

　　“There!” The human trafficker pointed at Lu Mingshu and company.

　　“These are the only ones left?” The girl looked disappointed.

　　“Yes, I sold the rest.”

　　“Senior Brother.” The girl looked over to the guy. “What now?”

　　“Should we just deal with it and buy what’s left…?”

　　“But they…”

　　“They are the only ones left, what’s there to choose from?” The guy sighed before turning to the human trafficker. “How much?”

　　“One sprit stone!”

　　“So damn expensive!?” the guy yelled. “Look at them; they are talentless and can only be used as slaves. How is that worth a spirit stone? I can’t do that….”

　　“Haish, Mister, if you don’t want them as slaves, what do you want? To train them? They might be talentless but look at their bodies. They can be put to good use on your bed!”

　　Being a crude man, the trafficker said whatever was on his mind, making the other guy turn as red as a tomato. The girl side-eyed him and shouted, “What the hell are you talking about!? We are buying people for a decent cause, don’t spout a bunch of bullshit.”

　　“Sorry, Miss.” The trafficker apologized but obviously didn’t listen to what she said. “I really can’t lower the value any more. In fact, if I sell them to the Scarlet Lantern Brothel, I would earn even more than that….”

　　After much bargaining, the human trafficker finally sold the three of them for the price of two spirit stones.

　　From the corner of her eyes, Zhou Ruying could see Ling Wuxia gritting her teeth. Ancient Jade Summit’s successor being treated like this must have been something new to her.

　　On the other hand, Lu Mingshu had a poker face as usual.

　　With their situation, it was best that they were sold as slaves. Who the hell would want to be sold to a brothel?

　　“You three, come along!” After paying, the girl yelled at them.

　　The three of them exchanged glances and stood up reluctantly.

　　After exiting the human trafficker’s courtyard, Zhou Ruying was stunned.

　　Oh my goodness.

　　In front of her eyes was a city – a towering city filled with gold and jade!

　　And that wasn’t metaphorical; the city was literally made of golden walls and jade floor tiles!

　　Where the heck are we? Tianyun City is nowhere near this!

　　It was the same for Ling Wuxia too. Even Ancient Jade Summit’s successor disciple had not seen such luxurious things. It was not just a single building made of gold and jade, but the whole city… a city that one couldn’t even see the end of.

　　Seeing these two country bumpkins, Lu Mingshu sneered.

　　As soon as she woke up, she realized that something was out of place; the human trafficker wore a piece of jade that was covered in runes. If she wasn’t wrong, this was a world of truth-seeking – a world that was way more advanced than theirs.

　　“You three, take note!” The girl pointed at the symbol on their hands that the human trafficker gave them before they left. “With this, you better not think of running away, because no matter where you go, we can find you and take you back.”

　　The trio exchanged glances and followed behind them quietly.

　　Lu Mingshu’s guess was proven right as she passed through the streets.

　　At last, they reached a worn-out Taoist temple.

　　“Senior Brother, Senior Sister, you’re finally back!” A young girl around twelve ran up to them. “How is it? All settled?”

　　“It’s all done!” The girl pointed at the dirty trio. “There, that’s them.”

　　The girl looked at them in disgust. “So dirty! And they are so old! It’s probably too late for them to refine their vital energy!”

　　“What can we do? They were the only ones left.” The guy smiled thinly. “Go boil some water and change them.”

　　“Okay.” The girl walked away before turning back abruptly. “Why do I need to boil it myself? Hey, come with me, you three!”

　　The trio then followed her to the kitchen.

　　“Do as you’re told. I’ll go get you clothes. If you don’t, you will starve tonight!”

　　As soon as the girl left, Ling Wuxia couldn’t hold it in anymore; “What is this place? Why is it so weird?”

　　There was no response.

　　Lu Mingshu went to fetch water, and Zhou Ruying chopped the firewood.

　　“Hey, I’m talking to you!”

　　Zhou Ruying looked at her with a deadpan expression. “Didn’t you hear what she said? If we don’t get this done, we’ll starve tonight.”

　　“…”

　　“Anyway, Miss Ling, where’s your bearing?” Zhou Ruying laughed. “The bearing that a successor disciple of Ancient Jade Summit should have? Not there anymore, huh?”

　　Ling Wuxia was in a dark mood at the moment. What she had gone through this day had grinded away at her patience.

　　“Why are you still daydreaming? Light the fire!” Lu Mingshu poured the water into the cauldron and looked at her.

　　“Me? Set up the fire?” Ling Wuxia pointed at her nose, looking at Lu Mingshu unbelievably. Does she think that I’m her slave?

　　“I get the water, she gets the logs, so this would be your job.” Lu Mingshu side-eyed her.

　　“Aren’t those people outside only at the Inner Breath Realm? Can they even stop me if I want to leave?” Ling Wuxia pointed at the door.

　　Lu Mingshu put the bucket down and stared at her, raising her eyebrows. “So? Have you already forgotten that you do not have any mystic force right now? Skills are nothing without that.”

　　“…” Ling Wuxia swallowed back her words. On their way here, she realized that this city was weird, as everyone had some amount of mystic force no matter how bad they were. Even though there weren’t many Harmonization Realms, it wasn’t that rare; one could pass by at least three just by walking on the streets.

　　“Are you still not going to do it?” Zhou Ruying threw the logs to her. “We have already done our part, so it’s not our problem when Master comes back,” she said, purposely emphasizing the word “Master.”

　　Ling Wuxia was foaming at the mouth, but she calmed herself down and did as told.

　　When the girl comes back and saw them doing their chores, she smiled in delight. “Not bad, obedient people! Hey, the one lighting the fire, are you stupid? How do you expect to have fire if you don’t blow on it properly? Stupid.”

　　Being chided, Ling Wuxia was about to blow her top, but she couldn’t do anything except endure it.

　　After the water was boiled, under the girl’s command, the three went to wash up and changed into a new set of clothes.

　　When they came out, the “masters” were dumbfounded.

　　“Senior Brother…” The girl tugged on the guy’s shirt. “I think we are the ones who got a bargain….”

　　The guy nodded unconsciously. Of course, when the trafficker said that he could have sold them to the Scarlet Lantern Brothel at a high price, they thought he was exaggerating, but it seemed he was telling the truth.

　　The guy started coughing. Of course, I don’t visit those places. I just happened to see the lead lady when I passed by.

　　Among these three, two were extremely good looking. One’s looks were extremely pure, while the other’s looks were bewitching. The last one wasn’t that pretty, but her figure was on point.

　　“Senior Brother!” the girl shouted, shooting death glares at him.

　　Realizing his mistake, the guy turned bright red and coughed awkwardly. “What are your names? And how old are you guys?”